Harvests Abound!

The steward added, "Tomorrow, send someone to find that kid and finish him with a single stroke."

Master Wang asked, "Do you want me to handle it?"

The steward laughed. "Master Wang is the head guard of the Huang Family. To deal with a scrawny kid who can't even truss a chicken, how could I trouble you personally?"

A short while later, the candle flames swayed. The two men pushed open the door and stepped out.

Chu Fan crouched in the shadows. Only after they had gone some distance did he quietly follow, moving like the wind without making a sound.

When they reached a secluded alley entrance, Chu Fan rapidly closed the distance and suddenly struck!

His figure blurred like a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey, his right fist wrapped in wind as it shot straight toward Master Wang's back!

Master Wang was indeed an expert at the peak of the Tempering Blood Realm. At the critical moment, a warning stirred in his heart. He let out a low growl, abruptly turned around, and crossed both arms to block!

"Bang!"

Fist and arms collided, and a muffled boom rang out.

Chu Fan felt a fierce Countershock surge through him, leaving his arm tingling. Peak Tempering Blood Realm. His Blood Qi really was mighty!

Master Wang was even more shocked—this punch had actually sent his Blood Qi roiling, forcing him to stagger back two steps!

His opponent's strength was clearly far inferior to his own, yet the strange force hidden in his boxing and his flawless force-exertion technique had pierced through most of his defenses!

"Which rat are you?!" he roared.

Chu Fan said nothing. His gaze was cold as ice. He suddenly stepped to the left and slapped the fleeing steward to the ground!

Then, he unleashed the Perfection realm of Twelve Forms Boxing. His punches shifted unpredictably, sometimes as fierce as a Tiger Pounce, sometimes as nimble as an ape. With exquisite footwork, he entangled Master Wang and launched an unending assault.

"Twelve Forms Boxing... You're from the Seven Star Gang!"

Master Wang possessed abundant Blood Qi, but his martial skills were nowhere near as refined as Chu Fan's. For a time, he was driven into a frantic scramble, taking punch after punch.

None of the blows were fatal, but the pain pierced his marrow and sent his Blood Qi surging!

Especially after learning that his opponent was from the Seven Star Gang, he had already grown timid and was unwilling to risk his life. All he could do was retreat again and again!

Bang!

Another punch shook Master Wang's center wide open. Seizing the instant when his Old Force had been exhausted and his New Force had yet to arise, Chu Fan's left hand darted into the small pouch at his waist and grabbed a handful of powdered lime.

He pressed forward again, his right hand forming a Bear Form Crushing Fist, feinting as though he intended to smash Master Wang's chest.

Master Wang snorted coldly. Instead of retreating, he advanced and swung his fist to meet it head-on!

Unexpectedly, Chu Fan's move was a feint.

At the instant when their fists were about to touch...

Chu Fan suddenly dodged to the right, his left arm sweeping upward as powdered lime scattered toward Master Wang's face!

In the darkness, how could Master Wang have expected the attacker to be so vicious?

By the time he tried to dodge, it was already too late!

The lime struck his face, and his Eyes immediately burned with unbearable pain!

"Ah! My eyes!!"

He screamed without end, flailing both hands wildly and completely losing his form.

A cold gleam exploded in Chu Fan's Eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he gathered all his strength into his right fist. His Blood Qi surged as he unleashed the most fierce and violent Bear Form Crushing Fist, smashing squarely into Master Wang's unprotected Temples!

"Bang!"

Master Wang's scream abruptly ceased. His head twisted at a bizarre angle, and his massive body crashed to the ground. After twitching twice, it fell silent.

Chu Fan stepped forward, bent down, and added another punch, smashing his chest until it caved in!

Not far away, the steward struggled to his feet, his entire body trembling as he pressed himself against the base of the wall.

The stench of urine spread from beneath his feet.

He tried to flee, rolling and crawling, but he knew no martial arts and had just taken a slap from Chu Fan. His head was still buzzing, and he stumbled through the snow, his steps uneven and staggering.

Chu Fan caught up in a few strides and struck out with another slap.

The steward screamed as his entire body flew up and slammed heavily into a great tree!

"No!"

The steward fell to the ground, struggled to rise, and shouted like a madman, "I'm the Huang Family's steward! You can't kill me! If you kill me, the Huang Family will never forgive you!"

"My young master, Huang Yu, is a leader of the Blood Saber Sect!"

His face was a bloody mess, his left eye covered in Fresh Blood. Leaning against the great tree, he trembled incessantly.

Chu Fan slowly approached and leaned close to the steward's face. He removed the black cloth covering his face. "Old thing, do you still recognize me?"

"..." The steward froze.

He had visited the Chu Family a few days ago, so he naturally recognized Chu Fan.

However...

Before he could react, Chu Fan's right hand had already locked around his throat.

The steward's Eyes bulged, and he could not even make a sound!

The next moment...

"Kachaa!"

The steward's neck bones were crushed by brute force. He stared wide-eyed, dying with his grievance unfulfilled!

Chu Fan crouched down and searched the bodies. He pulled the money pouches from both men's waists, then felt out a battered Fist Manual from Master Wang. He stuffed everything into his clothes.

Afterward, he became a shadow merging into the night. With several leaps, he vanished at the end of the deep alley.

Only two icy corpses remained, silently recounting the bloody slaughter that had just taken place.

He returned home.

Chu Fan lit an oil lamp and took the steward's and Master Wang's money pouches from his clothes.

When he opened the pouches, his Eyes immediately lit up!

Forty-two taels of Silver money in all, along with three hundred and thirty-two copper coins!

No!

There was also a banknote!

Chu Fan spread it open and looked...

Fifty taels!

Although he had failed to kill Huang Yu, the harvest was still enormous!

The Killing intent and desire in his heart seemed to soar to their utmost heights at that moment, leaving him with a feeling he could not stop...

Why bother going to the Mirage Dream Marsh again?

One raid on the Huang Family, and I become a Local Tycoon!

If I do this a few more times, why would I worry about lacking the resources needed for "Blood Refining"?

He put the silver and banknote back into the money pouch, stuffed it into his clothes, and only then opened the Fist Manual he had searched from Master Wang.

"Mountain Splitting Fist"...

The name was rather domineering.

But when he had exchanged blows with Master Wang, Chu Fan had felt that the boxing's might was still far inferior to the Bear Form or Tiger Form of Twelve Forms Boxing.

If the other man's Blood Qi had not been so much stronger than his own, Chu Fan feared he would have smashed his opponent's tendons and bones apart with the first punch!

Chu Fan casually flipped through it, then tucked the Fist Manual into his clothes.

Unless its level was far higher than that of Twelve Forms Boxing, he had no intention of cultivating another boxing style.

In the Seven Star Gang, Twelve Forms Boxing was mainly used to lay a solid foundation and assault the Five Foundation Establishment Passes.

When it truly came to a life-and-death battle, whether in the Seven Star Gang or the Ironclad Sect, everyone relied on blades and swords.

Moreover, he could use the Mountains and Rivers Map to continuously Break Limit on Twelve Forms Boxing...

As for this Mountain Splitting Fist, he could sell it at the black market another day. It should fetch quite a bit of Silver money.

With a thought, Chu Fan looked toward the panel of the Mountains and Rivers Map.

[Spiritual Essence: 35]

Killing the steward and Master Wang had actually increased his Spiritual Essence by four points!

Of those four points, the steward had probably contributed only one.

Could it be that Spiritual Essence differed according to Blood Qi, or according to cultivation and strength?

Chu Fan secretly nodded.

Recalling his battle with Master Wang, he had indeed felt the pressure of the other man's vigorous Blood Qi, but the pressure had not been as formidable as he had imagined.

Regarding the Five Foundation Establishment Passes of the Martial Dao Foundation Establishment, some called them five cultivation realms, while others believed they constituted a single major realm, with the five passes merely representing five levels within it.

The gap between each pass was not small, but it was not as insurmountable as he had thought.

Before he began cultivating, when facing Liu Da and the others, who had trained for half a year, he had been utterly incapable of fighting back.

But if he had used a brick to launch a sneak attack and struck Liu Da once in the back of the head, he could have killed him just as easily.

Twelve Forms Boxing at Perfection had practically crushed Master Wang's Mountain Splitting Fist... The strength of martial skills was indeed capable of making up for differences in realm, just as Master Cao had said!

By comparison, although Huang Yu and Master Wang were both in the Tempering Blood Realm, Huang Yu cultivated the Blood Soul Nine Swords and was far more dangerous than Master Wang.

Furthermore, he had used lime to kill Master Wang. If he used the same move against Huang Yu, it would probably fail.

Fortunately, Huang Yu had been injured by people from the Moon Worshipping Sect and was currently recovering. In the short term, he would not be able to break through Tendon Tempering—

As long as he found an opportunity, he could kill him!

This Huang Family truly was a treasure trove...

Chu Fan gathered his thoughts and began practicing his boxing inside the room.